Advise On Rays

[T1KARMANN]

ok lets back track a bit

if you want to buy a ray of any kind its your choice and if you have your mind made you dont let anyone put you off they are a great creature to keep

from passed experiance i had a 6x2x2 tank for 10yrs with lots of diffrent types of rays in it at diffrent times

the one thing i used to hate as i had to sell the rays on very fast sooner than i would have liked because they got to big for the tank

even a 10-12inch ray looked cramped in a 6x2x2

 

[mark7616]

I do really want a pair of rays and through research I get mixed messages. The tank will be 72x30x24 if you could list what species could live in here for life I would very much apriciate it. Also Cane are the true hystrix?

 

[T1KARMANN]

the rays at canes shop are not true hystrix or i would have brought them my self when i went to look

in the tank size stated you may get away with a male motoro

hystrix , scobina , retic (aka teacup rays) p14 which i have if you buy a male

my adive to you is dont buy any rays until you have the new tank up and running whats the rush

 

[mark7616]

There is no rush but tracking down these types of rays seems impossible no one has hystrix, scobina or retic so I dont know what im supposed to do. Thats why im looking now so if I come across them ill get them as I know I will be upgrading my tank. Im not doing this on a spare of the moment type of thing I put alot of research and effort into things and have been researching things for a while but am at a dead loss with the rays.

 

[T1KARMANN]

but what you are doing is buying a motoro just because you cant find the rays recomended

motoro are easy to find so it doesnt matter if you buy it now or when the new tank is up and running

buy waiting for the new tank to be set up it gives you a few more months to look for what you realy want

if when the tank is set up you cant find the rays recomended then buy the motoro

 

[mark7616]

No no im not buying a motoro at all thats just what I was recommended and I thought it was odd so I thought I would ask on here and mfk. I want some rays that are suited to my tank not what I can cram in.

 

[T1KARMANN]

half the fun of fish keeping is looking for something hard to get

and the drive to pick them up is also part of the fun for me i have been to holland and back 4 times now to pick up rays i wanted

just keep looking something will turn up it always does

just make sure you see any ray you are thinking of buying feeding 1st then leave a deposit and pick it up a few days later if the shop/seller is to far away get them to email you a video of the ray feeding

90% of ray problems you see posted on the net are MY NEW RAY WONT FEED

 

[mark7616]

I beleive I have found a pair of hystrix I will be going to view them saturday and if they are hystrix and are feeding I will get them. What is an ok shop price for a 6" pair???

 

[T1KARMANN]

the price of rays from brazil at the moment is very high

you chould be looking at £125-250 per hystrix

this is the best rays site around and also the guy i get my rays from in holland

http/www.freshwaterstingray.nl/

their should be some info about hystrix with pictures on their so you know what to look for
just because someone tells you they are hystrix doesnt mean they are

 

[mark7616]

Thanks for all your help mate I will take the pics with me and see if they are hystrix I really hope so. What type of things should I be looking out for?

 

[T1KARMANN]

the most important thing is they are feeding and their tails are not broken

the signs that a ray is not feeding are a dent between the eyes and you can see little bones showing near the tail

if the shop is not to far from your house get them to show the rays feeding a happy healthy ray will never refuse food

if the shop is less than 1hr away from your house it will be safe to take the rays then if the shop is more than 1hr away from your house pay for them or leave a deposit and tell them not to feed them the day before you pick them up

dont listern to the rays are hystrix as that what they were orded as as most rays imported as hystrix are not

if the ray has a short tail dont buy it as they are very prone to fungus and never grow back as its bone

make sure they are feeding thats the main thing and it will be best if they are feeding on dead food not river shrimp its very hard to get rays off river shrimp and other live foods

 

[mark7616]

Ok thanks mate. The shop is 45 mins away they have been in the shop a year and have grown about 1.5" he said they are in with a female motoro and that is huge and these are alot smaller. I said I wanna come and see them feeding. I was told that they got these from a lady that breeded them about a year ago and she said they are hystrix and there boss agrees so I will see. whats the best way to tell hystrix from humerosa.

 

[T1KARMANN]

as im not as bad as i come acoss on the forums i will PM you my number if you have a cam phone send me a pic when you are in the shop and i will tell you if they are hystrix

 

[andywg]

if the ray has a short tail dont buy it as they are very prone to fungus and never grow back as its bone

Quick biology point:

The tail will not be bone as 'rays are members of the Class Chondrichthyes, or the cartilaginous fishes. Their skeleton is made up of cartilage rather than bone.

 

[cane76]

here you go mark